This invention relates to the field of hinges, and more particularly to hinges for toilet seats and covers which facilitate sanitary maintenance of the seat, cover, and toilet bowl.
The problems attending the cleaning of bowls, particularly the portion of the bowl around the mounting studs and hinge pin, are well known. People have tried varied ways, and contrived many devices to reach under the seat edge and under the hinge pin for complete cleaning. With the conventional seat and cover hinge assembly, such cleaning is difficult since there is little clearance between the bottom of the hinge pin and the top of the toilet bowl.
Inventors have devised a variety of quickly detachable toilet seat hinge assemblies to overcome these cleaning problems. Most of these assemblies have one or more of the following objectionable characteristics:
Some assemblies, while permitting individual detachment of the seat and cover, leave the hinge pin fixedly attached to the mounting posts, which impedes cleaning under the hinge pin.
Some assemblies employ springs to make the hinge pin collapsible, thereby enabling detachment of the hinge pin as well as the seat and cover. However, most springs are subject to corrosion, and the cavities which house the springs may collect water, dirt, or grime.
Some assemblies employ two hinge pins, each being individually removable, thereby making the seat and cover detachable from the mounting posts or studs, which are rigidly attached to the toilet bowl. When one hinge pin is removed, the other hinge pin still in place, or its mounting post or both, can be unduly stressed or even broken by twisting forces inadvertently applied to the toilet seat or cover.
In some assemblies where the hinge pin or pins must be removed in order to detach the seat and cover, reassembly often requires careful realignment in order to reinsert the hinge pin or pins. Such assemblies are objectionable in direct proportion to the amount of undue care required for realignment and reinsertion of the hinge pins.
In some assemblies, relatively small pieces, like the hinge pins for example, are loose when the hinge pin or pins are removed because they are no longer attached to the seat or cover. Such small pieces may be accidentally dropped into the toilet bowl, misplaced, or lost, particularly when reassembly is not undertaken promptly.
Some assemblies are, relatively speaking more complex since they use a fair number of components or employ components of complex shape that are necessarily more difficult to manufacture than simpler components. Such assemblies are objectionable, when compared with simpler designs, because they are more difficult to assemble, at least initially, and are usually more expensive than simpler designs.
Some assemblies employ mounting posts or studs having recesses or cavities that are difficult to clean thoroughly, especially since their mounting studs or posts remain attached to the toilet bowl.
Some assemblies are designed to permit detachment of the seat or cover by placing a small lateral force on the seat or cover or by pulling the seat or cover away from hinge pin when the seat or cover is in a certain position. If the required force is low enough, an adult or child may accidentally uncouple the seat or cover. Also, components of such assemblies which slip or snap into position on the hinge pin may, over a period of years, loosen up or gradually wear down since they pivot about and rub against hinge pin in normal use, making the seat or cover or both more susceptible to accidental detachment.